The majority of people in Germany do not get enough exercise and sit for too long. On average, German citizens spend more than ten hours sitting down on a working day, which is almost two hours more than ten years ago, according to a report published on Monday by the German Health Insurance Company (DKV). According to the private health insurer, this is an “alarming record.” Only two percent of the population meets the conditions for an all-around healthy lifestyle.
In collaboration with the German Sport University Cologne and the University of Würzburg, the DKV report examined the health behavior of Germans for the eighth time. The focus was on nutrition, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, stress behavior, and time spent sitting. More than 2,800 people were surveyed between February 11 and March 17.
The average amount of time spent sitting per working day increased from nine hours and 58 minutes to around ten hours and 13 minutes within two years. On average, people spend three and a half hours sitting at work, two and a half hours in front of the television, and one and a half hours at a computer or tablet.
According to the study, only just under a third (30 percent) of people who sit a lot manage to compensate for long periods of sitting with sufficient physical activity. Overall, more than two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) achieve the recommended endurance activities, so the level remains fairly stable. Only one-third (34 percent) do the twice-weekly muscle training recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Less than one-third (32 percent) combine endurance and muscle activity.
The report also shows that around 80 percent do not smoke or use e-cigarettes. Twenty-nine percent of respondents abstain from alcohol completely. Only about one-third of the population eats a healthy diet and follows the recommendations of the German Nutrition Society (DGE), which recommends eating mainly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts, and little meat.
While young adults are more likely to abstain from alcohol overall, older people score higher in terms of nutrition and stress management, according to the report. When it comes to stress, however, only one-fifth (20 percent) of respondents across all age groups manage to cope healthily with the stress they experience on a daily basis. This is another low point after 2021.
An all-around healthy lifestyle is apparently difficult to achieve for many German citizens. According to the report, only two percent of respondents meet the recommendations in all areas, with gender differences. While three percent of women meet all the criteria for an all-around healthy life, only one percent of men do so.
Education also plays a role: respondents with a university degree are the most likely to meet the requirements for an all-round healthy life, at five percent. Among secondary school graduates, the figure is zero percent, and among people with a high school diploma, it is one percent.
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